Socialist Republic of Vietnam

11/23/2004 -- 20:58(GMT+7)

Ha Noi, Nov. 23 (VNA) - Vietnamese National Assembly deputies representing cities and provinces which export large quantities of shrimp have sent a joint letter to US congressmen, calling for sympathy for the difficulties faced by Viet Nam's shrimpers and favourable influence on the Department of Commerce (DOC) during the ongoing shrimp lawsuit.

The letter, dated Nov. 19, read: "We are sensitive to the economic hardships of the US shrimp industry, while it is clear that these problems have not resulted from Vietnamese exports, they cannot be corrected by restricting and prohibiting those imports. We believe that the anti-dumping duties will not improve the economic condition of the US shrimp industry; on the contrary, they could negatively impact US consumers and cause the loss of many American job that are strongly tied to the importing of shrimp."

The NA deputies said that this case has already seriously impacted Viet Nam's economy and the Vietnamese people. After the preliminary determination by the DOC, Viet Nam received disproportionately high duties, which placed it at a competitive disadvantage to other countries.

"We hope that you will ask the DOC to consider and to resolve the case in an objective spirit and assure that the process for calculating those duties take into account all relevant facts and conditions regarding exports of frozen shrimp from Viet Nam into the US, new information, data supplied by Vietnamese companies, and adjust the duties appropriately," said the letter.

In the meantime, the Viet Nam War Veterans Association has also sent a letter to US congressmen calling for assistance for Vietnamese farmers.